KIM CRAFT: Spring Garden wins online team of week poll

Spring Garden won The Gadsden Times' online team of the week poll for the first-round of the playoffs at gtpreps.com.

By Kim CraftTimes Sports Editor

Readers rewarded a group of players who overcame adversity on the road to garner a win in the first round of the state high school football playoffs as The Gadsden Times' online team of the week when voting ended Tuesday.Spring Garden claimed 34 percent of the vote, ahead of runner-up Piedmont in the poll at gtpreps.com. Cedar Bluff finished third, ahead of Geraldine and Fyffe, respectively. The Panthers (9-2), who trailed 19-12 at halftime, rallied for a 39-33 overtime win over Shoals Christian (6-5) on Friday night in the Class 1A playoffs. Top-ranked Piedmont beat J.B. Pennignton 41-6 in 3A playoff action. Fifth-ranked Cedar Bluff cruised past Phillips of Bear Creek 54-20 in another 1A game. Geraldine shut out Glencoe 14-0 in another 3A playoff matchup and Fyffe defeated Lexington 33-21 in the 2A playoffs.Fullback Forrest Livingston scored Spring Garden's game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard plunge, capping a night in which the Times' pre-season Dirty Dozen selection ran for 265 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries. Livingston also scored on runs of 1, 11 and 92 yards.Quarterback Will Ivey's 1-yard scoring run for the Panthers with 1:03 left in regulation tied the game. The game went to overtime after the Flame missed a 26-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter. Tyler Morgan's interception on third-and-long ended the Flame's scoring opportunity on the first possession of overtime. Morgan also had 19 rushes for 143 yards for the Panthers.A powerful ground game centered around Livingston and Morgan, who between them have more than 3,000 yards rushing to go along with 37 touchdowns, has Spring Garden on the verge of doubling its win total from the previous two seasons.The turnaround has come in a season that also has featured the return of coach Jason Howard to the Wildcat sideline. He coached Spring Garden from 2003 to 2009, before leaving to coach the past two years at Ohatchee. The Panthers won three games, including a forfeit, in 2010 and only two games in 2011.Livingston's big night offensively against Shoals Christian pushed him to 1,833 yards and 25 touchdowns on 263 carries for the season, while Morgan has run 166 times for 1,351 yards and 12 scores. Spring Garden travels to play Hubbertville on Friday.Keep up with area teams playing Friday night by following the sports department on Twitter @GTPreps or viewing our live scoreboard at gtpreps.com.

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